Crutching through Colorado.

Mountains are features of serene grandeur. I love the still, rugged, calmness of these massive natural structures. When I was seventeen I had the opportunity to head out west to Colorado for the first time. This was something that I had always hoped I would get the chance to do. Even though I had never been out west that far before, some part of me knew that I would love it. This wasn’t exactly my ideal trip though.

My sister had been living in Colorado for a few months, and my family in Indiana had finally decided to go out and visit her. We are a big driving family. Having a family of seven meant that buying plane tickets for all of our adventures was simply not feasible. We had been packing the car full and piling in for years so we were used to the cramped uncomfortable ride and knew how to make the best of it. This drive though, this drive to Colorado had new conditions that none of us were prepared for. 2017 was a rough year in the McHugh household.

In November of 2016, I tore my right ACL in a basketball game. I had surgery to repair it in December, and had been rehabbing throughout the beginning of 2017. Early in 2017 my sister, Katie, had suffered from stress fractures while training for her spring lacrosse season. In March, my sister, Alex (the one that lives in Colorado) had fractured her leg in a skiing incident. Also in March, I re-tore half of my new ACL on a beach in Ecuador. In May, my sister, Ava, snapped her lower leg (tibia and fibula) in half while sliding in a softball game. She had surgery to set her leg and would be in a cast for a couple of months. In June, I tore the other half of my ACL during a summer basketball practice, shredding my new ACL like spaghetti, leading me to another surgery. Just a week later, my brother, Grady, had a surgery to repair his torn meniscus.

For anyone that has kept count, yes, all five of us had suffered extensive leg injuries in the first six months of the year.

So it is July in 2017 now. Katie is in a walking boot. Alex is in a brace. Grady is on crutches 2 weeks out of surgery. Ava is on crutches with a cast on her right leg. I am on crutches, just 3 weeks post operation. So what do we do? We decide to drive to Colorado.

Luckily Katie and Alex were already out there, so we just had to get three injured bodies to fit comfortably in the back of our van. After we finally found tolerable positions for all of us by creatively propping here and there, got two Cryocuffs (ice machines) plugged in and running, we hit the road. Let me tell you, having to pack in three sets of crutches on top of our luggage took some creative packing by my dad. But he’s never been one to shy away from a good puzzle. As we made pitstops for bathroom breaks, leg stretches or to grab a bite, we looked like a hobbling circus. On more than one occasion I was pulled aside by strangers and politely questioned for some type of abuse from my parents, as all three of their kids with them had some sort of brace or cast on. Politely, I assured them that I had very loving parents, and the casts and braces were all due to separate events that just to happened to occur in a similar time-frame. I was appreciative to be reminded that there are really caring strangers, even if they were being a bit nosey. As weird as it was to have strangers staring at you all the time, it was neat that we were able to connect with people that normally would have never looked at us twice.

Once we finally made it out to Colorado to meet my sisters, we were determined to sightsee as much as we could. None of us wanted to let our untimely injuries take away from the fact that we were in a beautiful state that longed to be explored. Below is a picture to prove that the craziness you have read thus far is true. I hope it offers you a laugh, we sure have gotten our laughs out of it!

We visited Estes Park, drove to the top of Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road, which is closed most months of the year due to snow and unsafe conditions (Look this road up. It’s terrifyingly breathtaking). We climbed, saw elk, and took in the awe-striking views. Sure, it took us a little bit longer to get to the peaks, but we did it. We looked ridiculous, got stares, finger pointing and watched whispers and speculation, but none of that mattered. We were in one of the most beautiful places in the United States, together. We climbed mountains with crutches rather than walking sticks, put our grit to the test and at the end of the trip we went home sore and tired but without any regrets.

This trip taught me that when adventure comes knocking and opportunity presents, open the door. Say yes. Defy untimely odds. If we had stayed in the car and let our injuries tell us that we couldn’t climb any higher, we couldn’t possibly crutch on snow and rocks, and there was no way that we had the endurance to make it to the top, we would’ve missed one of the most spectacular views this country has to offer. I’ve learned time and time again that your mind is so much stronger than your body. Make it strong by challenging yourself to step outside your comfort zone, figuratively and literally. The climb is always going to be challenging, uncomfortable and trying, but it is always worth it for what’s at the top.